Cross-flow separation characteristics and piloting of graphene oxide nanofiltration membrane sheets and tubes for kraft black liquor concentration

SCOTT, CHEN MA; SINQUEFIELD, SCOTT A.; WANG, ZHONGZHEN; SHOFNER, MEISHA L.; NAIR, SANKAR

doi:10.32964/tj22.9.585

Cross-flow separation characteristics and piloting of graphene oxide nanofiltration membrane sheets and tubes for kraft black liquor concentration

Journal Article · Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · TAPPI Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.32964/tj22.9.585· OSTI ID:2418570

SCOTT, CHEN MA ^[1]; SINQUEFIELD, SCOTT A.; WANG, ZHONGZHEN; SHOFNER, MEISHA L.; NAIR, SANKAR

OSTI

Dewatering of weak black liquor (WBL) in the kraft cycle by evaporation is highly energy intensive. Membranes are an attractive alternative for energy-efficient dewatering, but existing commercial polymeric or ceramic membranes are either degraded in BL or have high capital costs. Our recent works have demonstrated the engineering of graphene oxide (GO) nanofiltration membranes, their stability and promising performance in BL conditions, and preliminary scale-up into sheets and tubes. Here, we describe in detail the separation characteristics of GO membrane sheets and tubes under real BL conditions and crossflow operation. Recycle-mode piloting of a GO tubular membrane showed average “production flux” of 16 L/m2/h (LMH) and high rejections of lignin (98.3%), total solids (66%), and total organic carbon (83%), with no signs of irreversible fouling identified. A corresponding GO sheet membrane produced an average flux of ~25 LMH and maintained high lignin rejection of ~97% during a slipstream pilot at a kraft mill site using WBL with ~16 wt% total solids (TS). Finally, we piloted a Dow/DuPont XUS1808 polyamide composite reverse osmosis (RO) membrane for last-mile processing of the GO nanofiltration membrane permeate. The RO membrane showed a steady state flux of 19 LMH at 65 bar and produced ~0.02 wt% TS water product, which is highly suitable for reuse in pulp washing operations in the kraft process. The results have strong positive implications for the industrial application of GO membranes in BL concentration and other related applications.

Research Organization:: American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), New York, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

DOE Contract Number:: EE0007888

OSTI ID:: 2418570

Journal Information:: TAPPI Journal, Journal Name: TAPPI Journal Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 22; ISSN 0734-1415

Publisher:: Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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